Markets manage to wipe out opening losses to trade in green in early deals

Indian equity benchmarks made a negative start on Tuesday but soon markets managed to wipe out losses and entered into green terrain. Initially, there was some cautiousness amid foreign fund outflows. On Monday, August 8, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 1,202.65 crore. However, some support came as the government is working on measures to boost India's exports, including targeting 50 countries in regions such as the Middle East and Africa, amid the heavy tariffs imposed by the US on Indian goods. Traders are keeping close eye on release of India’s consumer price index (CPI) data for July for more directional cues. 

On the global front, Asian markets are trading mixed, amid the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, with the Japanese market hitting record all-time highs, as the U.S. and China agreed to extend their tariff truce for another 90 days. Optimism about the US Fed cutting interest rate at its next meeting is also aiding market sentiment. Traders also seemed reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of several closely watched economic reports in the coming days.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 80815.76, up by 211.68 points or 0.26% after trading in a range of 80398.23 and 80852.11. There were 23 stocks advancing against 7 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.10%, while Small cap index was up by 0.23%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 1.00%, TECK up by 0.82%, Oil & Gas up by 0.71%, Auto up by 0.71% and Energy up by 0.69%, while Realty down by 0.76%, Capital Goods down by 0.57%, Bankex down by 0.15%, Healthcare down by 0.06% and Industrials down by 0.03% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.66%, Titan Company up by 1.46%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.45%, TCS up by 1.36% and Maruti Suzuki up by 1.13%. On the flip side, Eternal down by 0.84%, Bharat Electronics down by 0.76%, Bajaj Finance down by 0.66%, ICICI Bank down by 0.60% and Trent down by 0.53% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, amid concerns over India’s exports, Minister of State for Finance Ministry Pankaj Chaudhary has said that about 55 per cent of the country’s total merchandise exports to the US will be subject to 25 per cent reciprocal tariff. He added a combination of different factors, such as product differentiation, demand, quality, and contractual arrangements, would determine the impact on India's exports.

He said the government attaches utmost importance to protecting and promoting welfare of farmers, entrepreneurs, exporters, MSMEs, and will take all necessary steps to secure the national interest. He said a reciprocal tariff of 25 per cent is proposed to be imposed on certain goods exported from India to the US starting from August 7.

US President Donald Trump has also announced an additional 25 per cent tariff, to be effective from August 27. With this, the total tariff on Indian goods to the US is now 50 per cent. Meanwhile, the commerce ministry data showed that during April-June, the country's exports to the US increased by 22.18 per cent to $25.51 billion, while imports rose 11.68 per cent to $12.86 billion.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24654.20, up by 69.15 points or 0.28% after trading in a range of 24530.75 and 24661.75. There were 36 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Wipro up by 1.71%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.64%, Titan Company up by 1.58%, TCS up by 1.52% and Hero MotoCorp up by 1.49%. On the flip side, Grasim Industries down by 1.14%, Eternal down by 1.03%, Hindalco down by 0.86%, Bharat Electronics down by 0.78% and Bajaj Finance down by 0.69% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mixed; Nikkei 225 surged 1148.52 points or 2.75% to 42,969.00, Jakarta Composite gained 94.81 points or 1.25% to 7,700.74, Taiwan Weighted added 29.59 points or 0.12% to 24,165.09 and Shanghai Composite strengthened 18.78 points or 0.51% to 3,666.33. On the other hand, Hang Seng declined 33.81 points or 0.14% to 24,873.00, Straits Times fell 14.75 points or 0.35% to 4,218.03 and KOSPI was down by 0.72 points or 0.02% to 3,206.05.